We arrived home from Japan on Friday to find two tulips flowering.
One in the front yard, one in the backyard, with more just biding their time.
It's still cold and wintery here; the weather didn't follow the plan to warm up while we were away. The tulips are a good reminder - spring can't be too far way.
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I seem to have planted a few daffodil bulbs. No recollection of doing so!
I love the glimpse of cheer when they catch my eye out the window.
A lovely surprise.
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On a cold, damp Monday morning, the type that makes it so hard to get out of bed, a glimpse of a rose flowering in our garden is enough.
Beauty in the gloom is magic.
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I've never had much luck growing vegetables and herbs. (In fact, the only plants that have ever thrived for me are the roses in the front yard and I basically just leave them alone.) But I love cooking with fresh herbs and picking them straight from my garden gives me such a thrill, I keep trying.
I've even included a 30 Before Marriage goal of eating produce from our garden. Passed on past abilities, that's optimistic.
A few weeks ago I planted some pea seeds, as well as basil and snowpea seedlings. When those seeds first sprouted, gosh it felt like an amazing achievement. Then I planted carrot, onion and spring onion seeds and eagerly watched them. I mentioned to BoyF that I wished I had a veggie patch in the sun and the next day he built me a new garden bed. That night I planted rows of spinach, lettuce, beetroot, celery and radish seeds.
I'm eagerly watching.
I'm optimistic.
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Over the last couple of years, a series of home improvements had left us with a front yard full of hillocks of dumped soil, debris and weeds. Very attractive.
So, after some strategising and black texta plans drawn up on butcher's paper, Mike decided to create a wide garden bed along the house, pull out a couple of bushes, frame out the remaining tree, replace all the topsoil to start the lawn from scratch and lay pipes for underground watering.
Late October...
And now.
The grass is still a bit patchy but it's growing well, even with this crazy hot summer we're having.
The plants are establishing well too, one rose bush in particular has shot up. All the plants, that is, except one that we think has been nibbled by the neighbour's frequently-escaped pet rabbit.
That was my part in this whole process, the planting. I may have escaped hacking out the huge old stump, digging the trench for the pine borders, carting the old topsoil into the skip, spreading out load after load of new topsoil and mulch...but my goodness gardening is hard work!
A couple months in the making, officially ticking off 30 Before Marriage task number 2. Landscape our front yard.
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Adoring my daffodils.
Can't wait for the other bulbs to bloom. I've counted over 25 bulbs shooting up around the yard.
Love.
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New plaster, floor, tiles, paint, light fitting, bench, sink, cupboards, power point...it's been a lot of work but I think it's totally worth it. Particularly when it's Boyf doing most of the work. ;)
Such a change from the grimy, mismatched 70s laundry of before.
We haven't entirely finished - the window frame and door needs to be repainted and I'd like to add colour with some art - but that's all aesthetic. I think this might be my favourite part:
Corralling those clotheshorses on hooks.
While I don't now magically enjoy doing the laundry, this revamp/remodel/gutted-and-started-again laundry certainly doesn't hurt.
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The laundry is the only room in Red House that hasn't been renovated or updated. Fake wood panelling, vinyl floor, green tiles, hints of floral wallpaper and holes in the wall from when Boyf hung the TV in another room... Yeah, it really wasn't pretty.
It's almost hard to believe that it's gotten significantly worse since.
At least we now have date for those...interesting decorating choices - November 1979. And for the record, Hyperno did end up winning the Melbourne Cup that week. I googled. :)
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Last weekend I pulled out a hammer and hung a collection of things up in Blue Room. I think I need to straighten a few of them though. :)
Some certificates earnt by Boyf, a painted mirror from Morocco, a metal D bought in San Francisco, a whiteboard, kid art, a little ceramic plate and a framed list of my 30 While 30 goals. Love that it's a combination that represents both of us.
I don't think I've shown you this framed list before. To help keep my 30 While 30 goals in mind, I decided to print and hang them. As an added bonus, this make them available for Boyf and he's suggested activities, like kayaking, because of it. There is no glass in the frame, from memory I just put it at the back, so I can cross off items as I complete them.
Still a lot of tasks on my Red House To Do list, but this collection makes me happy.
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